Forever Friends
by nymphadora-era
Summary: [Lizzie McGuire] A fic about how the trio's frienship changes gradually, and unexpected bonds become stronger while others start to weaken. (Gradual MG) Chapter 3 uploaded!
1. As Normal as it gets

**Disclaimer: **Lizzie McGuire series belong to none other than erm..It's creators. I have not done any research on its creators so I am going to leave it just as it is.

**A/N**: This is my first try at writing a Lizzie McGuire fanfiction. I am pro Miranda/Gordo although; I do love how the trio interacts with each other. I feel that Miranda and Gordo have so much chemistry together and they do bicker a lot, which is an attraction for me to support their pairing, just like Ron and Hermione. As they say, Sidekicks Rule! This fic, however, will not directly plunge into MIranda/Gordo romance, but its a gradual pace by which they learn to grow closer and form their own bond without Lizzie and to also point out that they **can **have their own friendship without Lizzie.

**Rating: **General. I don't know. Maybe it'll change as the story change but for now, it's for general audience.

**Genre: **Humor/Drama/Romance

**Reviewers:** Hopefully, someone will read and review this story. If not, it's fine with me too.

**Points to note about this fic: **Lizzie, Miranda and Gordo are fifteen year olds. That's all I have to say about it. Oh yeah, and that this story happens before the end of the season. I would take some bits and pieces from the show, but other than that, this story does not follow the order of the show and plot. My own story, thus, I'll write how I want to write the story. Do read it though. Thanks! _",_

**Forever Friends**

_By nymphadora-era_

**1 As Normal as it gets**

"Chica! Hurry up, Gordo's here already!" Alice Sanchez, Miranda's mom, called from below. Miranda glanced at her Tigger alarm clock on her bedside table and saw that it was only six thirty.

_What's he doing here so early? School doesn't start until seven thirty. Urgh! I hate being rushed! _She thought furiously as she hurriedly brushed her hair and at the same time, tried to wear her sandals.

She opened her door and hollered.

"Tell Gordo to give me another five minutes Mom!" She failed to notice the figure who was standing in front of her bedroom door and was the victim to her shrill yelling.

"I heard that nice and clear thanks," Gordo winced, his ears ringing from Miranda's high-pitched yell.

MIranda jumped back in surprise.

"Oh Gordo! I'm so sorry," she started, looking apologetic, and tried to make way for Gordo to come in but she suddenly tripped on her half-worn sandals and fell on her butt with"Oomph!" and had her breath knocked out from her.

Gordo stood there, looking amused at his best friend, who's hair was half uncombed, and her clothes a little ruffled. He stifled a laugh that threatened to burst.

"If you dare laugh at me, i swear, something bad will happen to you." Miranda threatened, still on the floor and rubbing her sore butt. She kicked her sandals away first, _before i trip over again. _She thought.

"I wouldn't dare!" Gordo feign a mock horrified look, which backfired as he chuckled at her. She glared at him with narrowed eyes and ordered.

"Help me up!" Miranda thrusted her hand up and he gripped it and pulled her up. Gordo still has an amused look on his face which Miranda later, smacked his arm for it.

"Hey, you deserved it," Gordo protested, rubbing his arm, "That's probably the retribution for harming my precious eardrums with your shrill yelling." He pretended to pout and rub his ears, as if they are still hurting from the earlier assault.

_Aww...he's trying to imitate a baby. Cute, but doesn't work on me, _Miranda thought to herself, looking with raised eyebrows at her male bestfriend.

"Oh you poor little baby," she put on a cutesy voice and pinched his two cheeks.

"Hey, cut that out," he wriggled out of Miranda's hands and quickly darted out from her reach. Miranda snickered at him.

"Gordo, you know your pouty look doesn't work on me," she reiterated her earlier thoughts to him. "Even though it works on Lizzie, which I have no clue why," she shook her head in wonderment.

"It works on Lizzie cos' she's gullible, which is a good thing, cos' then, I can manipulate her to do whatever I want her to do," Gordo said smugly, crossing his arms and leaned against Miranda's study table.

Miranda just chucked a sock at his head. "Wait till I tell her you said that," she warned and rolled her eyes and headed towards her dresser but the sandals got in the way again. Luckily, she did not trip this time.

"Argh! This sandals is definitely going," she fumed, as she kicked the sandals aside and continued to brush her hair.

"Going? Going where?" Gordo asked, confused.

"Going to the dumpster, that's where! Hear that sandals?" She stopped brushing her hair for a moment to glare at the sandals on the floor as if they could hear her. "You're going to the bin where you should have belonged a long time ago!" She shouted at it.

Gordo looked at her, a look of amusement displayed on his face.

"Mir, I say you've officially lost your marbles," he shook his head at her but failed to notice the deadly glare coming from his Hispanic friend.

She then ignored him as she finished braiding her hair and put on the final touch of lip-gloss on her lips. Gordo was watching her as she took her sweet time to finish dressing up for school and he drummed his fingers impatiently on her study table as he leaned on it.

"Could you be any _slower_?" He said, sarcastically, as he tapped his fingers on his watch to indicate the time.

"Sure. How slow do you want me to be?" She pretended to bat her eyes at him, looking innocent.

"Urgh!" He finally let out a cry of frustration, which Miranda chuckled as she looked at him being so impatient.

"Alright, alright. I'm ready," she relented and twirled around on her heels. "SO how do I look?" She asked, not really wanting to know but just to irritate him further.

"MIRANDA!" He cried.

"Alright alright! Sheesh," she quickly grabbed her sling bag that was hanging from her door and followed him out of her room. "Man Gordo, you gotta chill! You know," she advised as they climbed down the stairs towards the Sanchez's living room, "like they say, _Carpe Diem_. "

"Don't you mean Akunamatata?" Gordo retorted, rolling his eyes back at her.

"Whatever," She simply shrugged it away and they headed towards the dining room, where her Mom and Dad and her sister Isabella was having breakfast.

"Good Morning Gordo, Miranda," Mr. Sanchez greeted as they entered the dining room.

"Morning Mr. Sanchez. HI Isabella," he acknowledged them, smiling.

"Bye Mom, Dad, I'm going now, " she said as she gave a peck of kiss on their cheeks. Her mom frowned.

"Chica, aren't you having breakfast?" She asked, calling at their retreating backs.

"Well, _I _would," she answered back, "But _this Chico_," gesturing to Gordo beside her, " wants us to hurry up to school."

"Hey, I didn't -" Gordo started to protest but she cut him off.

"Anyway, I'll just grab something from the cafeteria when we reach school, so don't worry! Later!" She waved a parting goodbye and ushered Gordo out of the door.

"You could have gotten something to eat for breakfast, you know," Gordo remarked and continued, "I didn't say you can't have breakfast."

"I know I know," Miranda admitted, "But I just don't feel like having breakfast today. I'm kinda full, I guess." She explained.

"So, you're just using me huh? To get out of eating breakfast," he raised a questioning glance at her.

She just smiled sheepishly in reply.

"Should've known I'm being used as a scapegoat for her own hidden agendas," he muttered to himself but loud enough for Miranda to hear.

"Aww...I didn't really use you as my scapegoat," Miranda tried to lift his spirits up and slung her arm across his shoulders, "Why would i want to do that to my very best brainiest pal?" She pretended to look innocent but of course, he didn't fall for that.

_She must think I'm stupid enough to fall for that, _Gordo thought to himself and rolled his eyes at her.

_I know he wouldn't fall for that, _Miranda smirked to herself, _He's not stupid enough for that. _They smiled at each other and knew that everything is cool between them. Their fights never last long and they'll be in good terms with each other in no time at all.

They headed towards Lizzie's house, a few blocks down from Miranda's. Lizzie's house is just a few blocks from their school; thus, it would not take much longer than ten minutes to reach it by walking. They always follow this routine everyday when going to school. Since Gordo lives the furthest from school, he would go to Miranda's house which is in the middle between his and Lizzie's house, and from there, they would walk to Lizzie's house to get her and the trio walked to school together from there.

As they were walking towards Lizzie's house, Miranda spoke up.

"So why were you extremely early today? You're not supposed to reach my house until six fifty," she questioned, shifting her bag strap further up on her shoulder where it is more comfortable.

"Well, I woke up earlier, so I finished dressing earlier." Gordo simply replied.

"Yeah, well, you should've waited at your house first. You know I won't be ready that quick. Girls need their time to dress, unlike _boys_," she indicated to him.

"Well, I figured that much," he admitted, " while waiting for _you _to finish dressing up for school this morning," he said, grinning at her. She tried to smack his head but stopped short of her actions and put it back down.

"I don't know why I bother," she sighed, defeated. He just smirked at her.

Soon, they reached Lizzie's front porch and Miranda rang the doorbell.

Mrs. McGuire opened the door and smiled as she saw who was at the door.

"Hey Mrs. McGuire," the both of them greeted together.

"Hello Gordo, Miranda. Come on in, Lizzie's having breakfast." She ushered them in towards the dining room where they found Lizzie, Matt and Mr. McGuire eating cereals.

"Hi guys!" Lizzie beamed at them.

"Hey," they smiled back.

"Good morning Mr. McGuire," Gordo greeted.

"Good morning Gordo," he answered, and lifted up his cup of coffee and sipped it. Matt looked at Miranda and smiled shyly.

"Hi Miranda," he piped up.

"Oh, err, hi Matt," Miranda said hesitantly. Gordo looked at them, amused. He leaned near Miranda's ears and whispered.

"Looks like he still has a little crush on you, _rebound girl_," Gordo teased. Miranda just nudged his ribs, hard.

"Oomph," he groaned, rubbing his sore ribs. Miranda just smiled innocently. Lizzie just looked on curiously.

"Have you guys had breakfast?" she asked.

"Yeah," Gordo answered.

"Yes, of course," Miranda lied while ignoring the questioning glance Gordo was giving her.

"Okay," Mrs. McGuire spoke up, "then you'd better get to school. I don't want you to be late."

"Alright mom." Lizzie grabbed her bag that was hanging on her chair and kissed her Dad's cheeks. "Bye dad," she said.

Her dad did not notice, as he was absorbed in the morning's newspaper. She shook her head, laughing lightly at him and did the same to her mom.

"Bye honey, have a safe trip to school," she smiled and to Gordo and Miranda she added, "Both of you too."

"Thanks Mrs. McGuire," they responded and they followed Lizzie out of the door. She waved at them from the front porch and they waved back. Matt suddenly appeared and also managed to add a parting goodbye to Miranda.

"Bye Miranda!" he waved from afar.

Miranda tried to hide herself with her satchel while Gordo just snickered.

Lizzie watched on, a weird expression on her face.

"What's up with that?" She asked them, once they were out of the vicinity of her house and walking towards school.

Both Miranda and Gordo answered at the same time.

"It's a long story," Gordo started.

"You don't want to know," Miranda said simultaneously. She shoved him slightly and gave a stern glare that gave off a vibe that said _'Don't you dare say anything or else I'm going to hurt you'._

Gordo cowered slightly under that gaze and nodded in fear. He put out his palms as a sign of surrender and backed slightly from Miranda's threatening glare.

Miranda turned back towards Lizzie and smiled innocently at her.

"Oh its nothing. Really, its nothing to worry about." She assured.

"Right." Lizzie said, dubious, but did not prod on further. Miranda quickly changed the subject.

"So, how did you find the algebra homework yesterday? I tried calling you guys for help on some of the questions but I couldn't get through to any of you!" she asked, looking at Lizzie, then to Gordo.

"My dad was using the net, so, he had to use the telephone line for connection," Gordo explained.

Miranda nodded understandingly. Looking at Lizzie, she asked.

"So what about you Lizzie?"

"Well, Matt was hogging the phone the _whole time_, talking to Lenny. I don't know _what_ that they were talking about that's so important and interesting that they kept yakking the whole time!" Lizzie vented.

"I've yet to hear Lenny _voice_ a sound, let alone even _hold _a conversation with Matt." Miranda pondered out loud.

"Yeah, and I'm amazed that Matt can understand what he's saying when he doesn't even _say _a word!" Gordo admitted, amazed.

"Well, one thing's for sure. Matt really have some _strange _friends," Miranda remarked.

"That's not hard to believe! Matt _himself _is a strange person. So technically, strange people make even _stranger _friends!" Lizzie laughed, and Miranda and Gordo joined in the laughter.

They gossiped and talk about anything under the sun as they make their way towards school, side by side.

Yup. This is as normal as it gets.

_TBC_

_AN: Hope you guys like it! It's a bit boring I admit, but it's my first try and i promise it'll improve. Thanks for reading! ",_


	2. Inside His Head

**Disclaimer: **Lizzie McGuire series belong to none other than erm..It's creators. I have not done any research on its creators so I am going to leave it just as it is.

**Rating: **General. I don't know. Maybe it'll change as the story change but for now, it's for general audience.

**Genre: **Humor/Drama/Romance

**A/N**: Thanks to all who even too a glance and reviewed this story. After writing the first chapter, I totally lost the mood to continue thus the long break in updating. Anyway, I found back my mood and some ideas so here's the next chapter! ;)

_Black Knight 03 : _Hey, thanks for the feedback! Maybe, you could help me point out the minor errors so that I can make the changes to the fic. Thanks for reading!

_Brie, Writer Blaze : _Cool. Thanks so much for reading!

_Abuhin : _Thanks! Yeah, I totally love M/G too. I love pairings that not many people do.

_Hockey Lover : _Great! Thanks for the heads up for the 'Lenny' mistake. Totally appreciate it! Any more mistakes, just give a shout out! ;p

**Forever Friends**

_By nymphadora-era_

**2 Inside his head**

Gordo sat slumped in his chair, tapping the blue pen against the edge of his desk, glancing at the Quartz clock on the wall as the minute hand tick by, slowly.

_Hmm...Is that clock working or is the day really passing by that slowly? _He looked at his wristwatch, a present from Miranda and Lizzie for his fourteenth birthday, and the time matches the one on the wall of his American history classroom.

He sighed and slumped down further in his chair.

This may seem unusual to anyone who knows him because Gordo is the type of person who loves school and enjoys every lesson, and American History is one subject that he absolutely love, but hey, even American History has its boring moments. And with Mr. Diggs away for a seminar, they had another substitute teacher who is, unlike Mr. Diggs, actually looks like a teacher and is currently droning away like one.

Thus, right now, Gordo is waiting impatiently for the period to end so that he could move on to his next favorite period.

Lunchtime.

And guess what?

That is the most favorite period of the day for his two best friends who is none other than the lovable, giggly girls, Lizzie McGuire and Miranda Sanchez. Speaking of which, there they were, sitting in front of him, giggling and chattering away on the hot topic of the day, whatever that is, and without a care for the droning bee at the front of the classroom.

_Obviously, they're talking about something that has **nothing **to do with American History_, he figured for himself.

However, he still was curious about what the duo in front were discussing excitedly between themselves this time, thus, he leaned forward in his chair towards Miranda, who sat directly in front of him, and tried to listen in on their conversation.

"Oh my god, look at his hair! It's like glowing!" gushed Lizzie, in an excited whisper to Miranda, while looking adoringly at the guy-in-the-conversation's head that is none other than the infamous Ethan Craft.

"Yeah! I wonder what shampoo he used.... I'd sure love to get one for myself..." Miranda pondered with a dreamy-like expression on her face, making Gordo roll his eyes at the pointless conversation that his two best friends were having.

He just shook his head at them and ignored the rest of their conversation as he slumped back in his chair.

Yup. That's how his best friends usually are. Giggling non-stop about that _oh-so delectable _Ethan Craft and his gorgeous hair, eyes, face and other physical features of his tall schoolmate. Not that he is jealous or anything.

Sure, that guy has the best physical features and that every girl in school is gushing nonstop about him. He is what every guy dreams to be. But seriously, Ethan is lacking in the brains department, something that Gordo obviously has plenty and which the girls don't give a hoot about.

Lizzie and Miranda has been his best friends like since forever, (_hey! I sound just like a girl there!) _and they have been through hardships (_If you count being grounded as a hardship) _and happiness together as a trio and their friendship has grown stronger, even if it has only been fifteen years.

Looking at Lizzie, who is donning a white sleeveless tee and blue beaded jeans with her blonde hair worn down on her shoulders with a matching headband to keep the hair in place, he smiled to himself. He had known Lizzie since he was a toddler playing with his little airplanes and Lizzie with her dolls. She was the first friend he'd made ever since his family moved here and they have been best friends ever since.

They had always done stuff together like playing in the park to taking swimming lessons and whenever they're doing things together, it was always fun. Lizzie knows him inside out and they tell each other almost everything, well, _almost _being the word here. There is some stuff that he would never reveal to anyone, especially to Lizzie, as it concerns the matters of his heart.

Yes. He had a crush on Lizzie. Emphasize on the _had._

This is not something new because everyone _already_ knows that he had a crush on Lizzie in the fourth grade, courtesy of Lizzie's mom who blurted out to everyone. But that was a thing of the past.

Lizzie's and his parents have always been trying to get Lizzie and him together, much to their embarrassment. However, Gordon had insisted that he and Lizzie are only the best of friends, nothing more, nothing less. Truthfully, he wouldn't mind being something more than just a best friend to Lizzie, but he value their friendship even greater.

Oh yeah, he already knew what would happen if he were to date Lizzie alright.

He'd heard about those kinds of relationships where you date your best friend and when things go downhill, your friendship is the one that suffers the most. He did not want to risk that. Thus, for now, he's contented with being her best friend.

_Right._

Although, no one can stop him from still liking Lizzie right? Even if it's hidden deep down in heart and only makes its appearances when Lizzie gets close to a guy.

One thing's for sure. Gordo is really protective of Lizzie. He always make sure that he has her back and supports her hundred percent whenever she's being harassed by bullies or by Kate and her posse. He always takes her side in arguments with other people and normally let her win when _they_ are having a tiff.

Lizzie is the kind of girl that can get hurt easily and may not have the courage to stand up for herself, thus, that's why he always makes sure that he is always by her side whenever she needs him.

She is sweet and kind and helpful and very pretty but she just doesn't dare to be firm with people and the lack of courage to accept criticisms is the only thing that is bringing her down sometimes.

Which is the total opposite of his other best friend, Miranda Sanchez.

Turning to the girl in front of him, he let out a soft chuckle as he watched her.

Today, Miranda was wearing a black shirt with words emblazoned "Dorks are Hot" with a red and black tie around her neck that matches with her knee-length checkered skirt. To top it off, she had her hair tied up in a bun with a few strands of colored hair coming out from the hair band and with some soft curls on her side burns. Right now, she was whispering animatedly to Lizzie about something and her facial expressions working in full gear.

Yep. Definitely the spunky Hispanic that he knew.

Miranda is what you can call, the '_different' _one amongst the three of them. She dresses the way she likes without giving a care to what people might think of it.

She's feisty, has a lot of spunk in her actions and she totally stands up for herself. She'll never let what anyone say about her get in her way of doing what she likes to do and one thing is for sure, she would never let him win any argument without giving her best fight, which is, of course, is to his disadvantage.

She has stood up against Kate and her posse and even went as far as to plot nasty pranks against Kate in retaliation. She has done more 'bad' things than Lizzie and him put together but still, she is a very loyal friend and would go through perils to stand up for him and Lizzie. She would do almost anything for them if needed, just like he would to her and Lizzie.

Miranda is a great looker, even with her different fashion style, she manages to look good.

She exudes confidence and she's always cheerful, which is one quality that she shares with Lizzie. He must admit, Miranda always manages to lift his spirits up with her incessant gossips and even when they're constantly bantering. Their banterings is really enjoyable and Miranda is definitely the one person who can infuriate him at one moment, and make him chuckle in the next.

Gordo smiled to himself, and was so deep in thought, thinking about his two best friends that he wasn't aware that the lesson was over and that everyone is leaving for lunch.

"Hello? Earth to Gordo." Miranda frowned, looking at Gordo who was still staring blankly into space. She decided to try again, more firmly this time. "Gordo! The Martians have landed and is waiting to have lunch with you!"

Miranda's voice jerked him out of his inner ponderings and he focused his mind on the person in front of him, with her eyebrows raised and amusement clearly on her face.

"Gordo? Are you alright?" Lizzie's voice asked, concern lacing her question as she looked at him.

Gordo immediately shook away his thoughts and rolled his eyes at Miranda. "Very funny Miranda." He said, deadpanned.

"Well, at least it worked. Which planet were you on anyway? And you were smiling to yourself there. A bit freaky if you ask me." Miranda retorted, getting up from her seat and grabbing her books off the table.

"Yeah Gordo. C'mon, spill. What made you zone out into space?" Lizzie prodded, also getting up from her seat and stood beside Miranda. They looked at him, expectantly waiting for an answer.

"Look it's nothing really," he explained as he got up from his seat and began to walk towards the door. "It was getting a little bit boring so I just let my mind drift away while waiting for lunch to ring."

Miranda stopped short in her tracks with her jaws dropped slightly. "Wait, did I just hear that correctly? Did Gordo just say that _American History _was **boring**?" She turned to Lizzie for confirmation, disbelieved of what Gordo had just admitted.

"Well I heard that too!" Lizzie confirmed and they turned to stare at Gordo.

Putting her hands akimbo, Miranda demanded. "Okay who are you and what have you done to our Gordo?" He stopped and turned to look at them.

"What?" He defended. " American History can get a little bit _boring _sometimes too, and with that new substitute teaching it, I just can't concentrate so I drift away. Just like you two who constantly yapped through the lesson even when the lesson _wasn't _boring," He retorted, and continued walking towards the cafeteria.

"Yeah, I gotta admit though. The way that the new substitute teaches made the lesson a total dud. I'm amazed I didn't fall asleep while I'm talking to you." Lizzie admitted to Miranda, who just shrugged.

"Well, I'm just surprised that Gordo can find a lesson to be boring. That's all. He is, after all, " winking at Gordo in a teasing manner, " the resident _smarty _who loves school." She smiled at Lizzie who chuckled with her and they walked past him through the doors of the cafeteria in search of a table for them.

He looked at their retreating backs and shook his head with a sigh.

That's definitely Miranda alright. Always with a smart-ass comeback. And he hurried his pace to join them as they went about eating their lunch for the day.

_TBC._


	3. Pillow Issues

**Disclaimer: **Lizzie McGuire series belong to none other than erm..It's creators. I have not done any research on its creators so I am going to leave it just as it is.

**Rating: **General. I don't know. Maybe it'll change as the story change but for now, it's for general audience.

**Genre: **Humor/Drama/Romance

**A/N**: I just started school and I am trying to get into the groove of writing again, so pardon me if there are tons of mistakes here. To those who is reading this story,:

_Black Knight 03 : _Thanks for the offer! ", I'll definitely need some help in terms of grammar editing cos' I'm not a stickler for good grammar. ;) Feel free to email me the errors and did I tell you I'm totally grateful for that? No? Well, now I just did! Hehe! And by the way, I totally love your M/G stories and I doubt I can even reach that level of writing! Do keep coming with more M/G stories!

_Sethduck19: _Thanks for taking the time to read the story! No, Miranda is not anorexic, but there's just a mystery behind it. Read to find out! ;)

**Forever Friends**

_By nymphadora-era_

**3 Pillow Issues**

Adjusting the strap of her bag to a more comfortable position on her shoulder, she scoured the areas around her for a familiar blonde head. Spotting the target of her search under a shady oak tree, she smiled to herself and bounded off towards the target, her satchel bumping against her side as she moved.

"Sorry, been waiting long?" Miranda asked as she reached Lizzie, who was currently scribbling away on her homework assignment and lying flat on her chest on the grass and legs dangling up in the air. Lizzie looked up upon hearing the voice and smiled.

"Oh, it's not that long," she shrugged, nonchalant and continued, "Anyway, it gives me time to catch up on my book review that's due this Thursday." Lizzie gestured to the work in front of her and grinned at Miranda. She shifted her books to the other side to make some room for Miranda to sit. "Oh, and where's Gordo? I thought you guys had Glee Club practice together?" She asked, looking at the absence of their other best friend.

Miranda dropped her satchel on the lush grass patch and plopped down beside Lizzie. She sat with her legs stretched out in front of her and adjusted her skirt so that it would not show things that need not be shown. She leaned back against the oak tree and crossed her arms in front of her.

"I don't know. He looked like he needed to go somewhere urgently. He told me to go ahead first, thus here I am. " She explained.

Looking at the homework assignment that's in front of Lizzie that's already halfway done, she commented. "Wow. You've already _started_ doing it?" She asked, amazed. "I haven't even _read _the book yet! Good job Lizzie McGuire," she said after a while and patted Lizzie's back with an exaggerated _' I'm proud of you _' look on her face. " I've already pictured you receiving the val-what-to-rian at the end of high school," she paused before adding, " along with _the_ David Gordon, the resident smarty pants of course!" Miranda grinned, while Lizzie just rolled her eyes at her exaggeration.

Just then, a voice interrupted, startling the both of them.

"It's _valedictorian_." Gordo spoke up from behind the tree. Both Miranda and Lizzie looked up to find Gordo looking down at them, just as he stepped out from behind the tree.

"Speak of the devil," Miranda muttered under her breath. "How _long_ have you been standing back there?" She looked up at him, her eyebrows raised questioningly.

"Long enough to hear you say my name," he shrugged, "and by the way, it's _valedictorian." _He reiterated his earlier clarification of the wrongly said word of Miranda's.

"What?" She asked, looking at him in puzzlement. Gordo dropped his bag beside the tree and plopped down beside her.

"You _were_ talking earlier about someone making valedictorian, weren't you?" He asked, exasperated at having to repeat.

"Oh yeah," Miranda finally admitted, once the realization about what he was referring to sink in her head. "So what about it?"

"Urgh! Nothing!" Gordo cried in exasperation. "I was just telling you what the word was, you know?_ Va-le-dic-to-rian_?"

"Uh, whatever." She said casually with a flick of her hand and Gordo just rolled his eyes at her. Inwardly, she grinned to herself. _It's fun playing dumb and seeing him gets all riled up. _Lizzie just watched them, amused.

"So where did you go Gordo? How come Miranda came here first?" Lizzie asked, propping herself up slightly with her arms and turned to look at him.

"That's cos' Miranda is evil and did not want to wait for me so she walked extremely fast and left me there all alone by myself," he pretended to pout and look glum. Miranda just gave him a light whack on the head. "Ow! My head! See, she _is_ evil! _Now_ she's trying to destroy my brain cells," he whined while rubbing his head. Lizzie just laughed at her best friend antics while Miranda rolled her eyes at him.

_Pouting definitely does not work for Gordo. _She thought to herself.

"No, seriously," Lizzie asked, chuckling, "where did you go just now?"

"To the men's room." He replied casually.

"The men's room" Miranda said, amused. "_That's_ the big mystery place that you so _urgently _needed to go? And here I thought it was a case of life and death."

"Well, looks like no mystery there." Lizzie declared and added, "Just a case of an uncontrollable bladder." Miranda chuckled at her words.

"You took that right out of my mind!" She high five Lizzie and they snickered while Gordo just made a face at them.

"Oh brother." Gordo muttered to himself and a yawn followed it.

Around them, other students of Hillridge High were also milling around, either sitting on the grass patches and under the trees as they chatted with their friends or just lazed about. It was a normal scene after school as some were waiting for their friends to get out of extra curricular activities and they usually hanged about in their school compound.

"So how was Glee club practice?" Lizzie asked as she went back to doing her book review. Miranda was gently fingering the flowers beside her that were scattered around her under the tree and replied.

"It was alright. The same as all the other glee club practices," she shrugged. Gordo let out a yawn.

"Yeah. The same old boring practices where we practice our breathing through the diaphragm before '_letting our voices flow naturally'_. Or what Mr. Escobar always said." He mumbled and another yawn escaped his lips.

"You're look really tired Gordo," Lizzie noticed.

"Oh really? I hadn't noticed," he muttered sarcastically.

"And you're extra sarcastic today. Did you eat a pill of Miranda's?" She teased but only a huge yawn answered her. She did not notice Miranda's glare for making that joke.

"Why don't you take a nap while I finish my book review here-," she suggested, "-and we'll wake you up when we're ready to go home, won't we Miranda?" looking at Miranda for confirmation.

"Yeah, I think I'll do that," he agreed. Miranda however, has this strange look on her face.

Gordo noticed it too and backed away slightly. "What?"

"Are you alright Gordo? Are you sure you're not having a fever or something-" she brought her palm up to his forehead and frowned, "-cos' you're behaving a tad strangely today. First, you zoned out to another planet during American History _and _said that it was boring and now you're agreeing to take a nap?" One eyebrow raised in suspicion.

"Will my answer of _'I'm just tired' _suffice for you?" He asked, tired and sleepy and another yawn is threatening to escape. "Or maybe cos' I've had too much for lunch that it's taking its toll on me now," he yawned.

"Well, you _did_ eat **a lot** just now.... enough for three persons maybe," she teased.

"Hey!" He cried defensively while she and Lizzie just laughed.

"Fine. Go take your nappy you baby you," She conceded teasingly but he just ignored her teasing.

"Thanks. So do you mind?" He was looking at her as if asking for her permission which she will find out why a moment later.

Miranda looked at him, puzzled. _Why is he asking me that? _

"Mind? Why would I mind?" She replied, with a frown on her forehead.

"Thanks," he smiled gratefully and his next action made her gasp in surprise as he rested his head on her lap and stretched out such that he was lying parallel to Lizzie who was spread out flat with her chest on the grass and doing her work beside Miranda.

"Gordo!" Miranda gasped, horrified that his head was on her lap. She tried wriggling to get his head off her but to no avail. Lizzie tried to stifle a laugh that turned to a cough upon seeing Miranda's threatening glare. It was a hilarious scene though, watching her trying to get Gordo's head off her lap.

"Please...you already said you don't mind...c'mon...lemme sleep for a while..." he mumbled with his eyes already shut, trying to make Miranda's lap stay still by firmly lying on top of it. "And could you please stop wriggling? It's kinda making it hard for me to sleep..." he said sleepily and he folded his arms across his chest as he drifted off to sleep.

Miranda gave up from trying to get Gordo's head off her lap and smacked his head lightly and rolled her eyes at him, even though the gesture was futile cos' his eyes was already shut. She fumed slightly just as he lulled into sleep. "Fine. But if I get cramps in my leg, I'm going to hurt you. Hear that?" She threatened as she looked down at him, and a muffled 'Mmmm..' was all the response that she would be getting for now.

"Oh Miranda," Lizzie finally spoke up, "just let him sleep. He does look terribly tired and that nap is probably the best thing for him." She reasoned and watched as Gordo's breathing began to rise and fall at a slower pattern and she smiled.

"Look at him. He looks so peaceful doesn't he?" She said softly, kinda in a dreamy like state and Miranda raised her eyebrow at her.

"Uhuh...yeah.....right." Miranda said sarcastically. "He gets to take a nap and I get to be the pillow.." She muttered under her breath and looked at Lizzie who was still staring at Gordo, lost in thought.

Now, it's her turn to look amused at Lizzie. "So...how much longer do you think it will take you to finish your book review Lizzie?" she asked, snapping her out of her reverie. " I don't want my legs here to become a dead weight if this guy here," gesturing at Gordo, " sleeps much longer than he needs to."

"Oh, just a few more paragraphs and I'm done. Don't worry, he'll be off you sooner than you know it," Lizzie assured, giving her a small grin and continued scribbling on her paper.

They stayed under the shady oak tree in comfortable silence, with Lizzie on her book review, Gordo dozing on Miranda's lap and Miranda lost in thought.

In between moments, she would try to cross her legs to be more comfortable but the load on her lap prevented her from doing so. She also did not realize that her hands had moved from playing with the grass to the brown curls on her lap, or more specifically, Gordo's head. As she glazed out deep in her thoughts, her fingers were gently curling itself around Gordo's mop of brown hair as she unintentionally played with it.

Fortunately for Miranda, Lizzie did not see it as she was furiously scribbling away on her book report. Gordo was subconsciously enjoying it from the look of the small smile that adorned his lips but was unnoticed by both gals.

After another few minutes of silence, save for the scratching sound of pencil on paper, Lizzie suddenly cried in jubilation, rudely jolting Miranda out of her daze and her fingers yanked itself from Gordo's hair, causing Gordo to yelp out in pain and jerked him out of his nap.

"Finally! I'm done! Yes!" She pumped her fist in achievement and turned to look at her friends. A double pair of eyes greeted her, one with a steely glare and the other with droopy lids. She suddenly realized that she had rudely awakened her friends up and she gave them a sheepish and apologetic smile. "Whoops, so sorry guys." At least she had the sense to look ashamed.

"Well you should be...nearly made me have a heart attack." Miranda muttered and rolled her eyes. Gordo was rubbing his head to ease the pain of his hair nearly being yanked off his scalp. However, he did not question Miranda why her fingers were in his hair.

"I'm sorry. I'm just _so _relieved that I've finished this book review," she explained, "The book that she assigned us is so hard! I can't believe i can even _finish _reading the book."

"Urgh..No need to remind me. I still have to try reading past the _first _page, let alone read the entire book." Miranda groaned.

"Well, you should've tried reading it when I reminded you the other day, " Gordo told her. "See, now you only have three days left to do it. Be like Lizzie, the good girl," he smirked.

Miranda just made a face at him while Lizzie laughed light heartedly as she stuffed her book and things in her bag and set them aside. She stretched herself out a little, releasing the cricks in her neck.

Gordo straightened up and stretched out his back, releasing a huge yawn but looking slightly more afresh.

"Urgh..Close your mouth when you yawn Gordo," Miranda said, disgusted. "You look like a hippo. So unsightly."

Gordo just looked at her, amused.

"You sound just like my mother."

"Oh and do you use your mother's lap as a pillow too _Gordo_?" She retorted sarcastically. Lizzie chuckled at her words. Gordo rolled his eyes at her and stuck out his tongue at her.

"So _now _you're a five year old? Real mature." Miranda scoffed. " First the nap and now the behavior. I really wonder what you ate at lunch to reduce your mentality to that of a toddler." She muttered aloud but not in a mean kind of voice, just a teasing one.

"Can we get up and leave now before she mock me any further?" Gordo urged with a pleading voice to Lizzie. Lizzie just laughed at them light heartedly, still lying on her back facing up to the both of them.

"You guys are so entertaining! It's so fun to watch and see who gets the upper hand and looks like this time Miranda scores one point! She wins!" She cheerily declared, and pretended to clap for her, while Miranda acted as if she had just won a beauty pageant, and waved a hand in the air to an imaginary audience and mouthing _'Thank you, Thanks you! You really like me!' _that made Gordo slap his head in despair and shook his head is exasperation.

"So now _you're _taking her side in this? I'm disappointed in you Lizzie..." Gordo pretended to be crestfallen and played on, ". After all this while I've stood up for you and this is how you repay me?" He pretended to be hurt by it and started to rise from his position on the ground as if going to leave.

"Aww...poor Gordo...can't even handle a quick wit like me!" Miranda teased looking up at him as he picked up his backpack that was resting against the oak tree.

Gordo laughed disbelieving at her and retorted. "Hah! You? Quick wit? More like a smart alec to me."

"Alright," she conceded, "I'll accept that. AT least I'm smart _something _so I'll settle with that," and she leaned back, contented with herself. And for the umpteenth time, he rolled his eyes at her.

"Can we go now? Or are you guys going to stay here until the school closes?" He said sardonically.

"Alright alright," Lizzie sat up and brushed herself and collected her books off the grass. Looking at Miranda who was still sitting there, she urged. "C'mon Miranda, let's go."

"Hmph. Fine," and reluctantly, she tried to get up but pain shot through her legs just as she tries to do so. "Arrhh!"

"What? What's wrong?" Lizzie and Gordo asked in unison, looking at her in concern.

"My legs! Now I've got leg cramps!" she moaned and settled herself back on the ground and tried massaging it to ease the pain.

"I think it's because you sat too long," Lizzie presumed and tried to help her get up on her feet.

"No, I think it's cos' **_Gordo_**," glaring up at him, "used me as a pillow and now my legs feel like a heavy load! I've already warned you that if I got cramps I'm gonna hurt you," she looked at him with fury in her eyes and made use of Lizzie's help to get back on her feet.

"Gordo, give me a hand here!" Lizzie urged him, who was just standing there looking at them and at her command; he went forward and place his arm around Miranda's waist on the opposite side and together they hoisted her up to her feet, with Miranda moaning in pain.

"I'm so sorry, Randa," Gordo apologized, looking at her with sympathy, but a cheeky grin appeared after it, "but you sure do make a good pillow!"

"What did you just say?" She glared.

Gordo chuckled even though he was still struggling to get her wobbly feet stable on the ground, even with Lizzie on the other end.

"You do! It's not too hard for the head cos' it's soft and cushiony," he admitted even though he knew of the consequence. Just as expected, he received a smack on the head, but not from Miranda but from Lizzie.

"You sure are dead meat Gordo," she shook her head despairingly at him.

Miranda was still in shock at what she had just heard. "Are you insinuating that I'm fat???!!!" She demanded, and tried to stomp her feet in anger but due to her condition right now, it only made her leg cramps worse. "Ow!" she moaned and tightened her grip on the shoulders of her best friends, in which her arms were draped across, Gordo's a little tighter, making him wince in pain in return.

"Ow! Ease on the grip there lady! You'll break my shoulders with that strong claw of yours," he grumbled but continued to hold her up.

"Well that's for saying that I'm fat!" she fumed.

"I didn't say that you're fat. I just said that you have soft and cushiony laps!" he defended.

"Which also means to say that I'm fat!" she snapped.

"No! It just means that you have soft and cushiony laps," he insisted.

"Oh and I am supposed to be offended or complimented by that?" she looked at him, deadpanned. Before he could answer, Lizzie interrupted.

"Okay guys! Time out here. Miranda," turning to her, "Trust me, you are not fat. You never have been and you never will be." She said firmly.

"Oh and how do you know that?" Miranda looked at her with raised eyebrows, slightly curious.

Lizzie grinned. "That's cos' if I see that you're pigging out on too much junk food, I'll drag you to the gym and make sure you work it all off! Just like you will for me." That made Miranda chuckle and Gordo breathed a sigh of relief that she is no longer mad, thanks to Lizzie. _I owe her one _he thought.

"Thanks Lizzie," Miranda smiled and squeezed her shoulders in appreciation and then turned back to Gordo. With her other arm around his shoulder, she reached out and smacked the back of his head.

"That's for causing the cramps _and _saying that my legs are cushiony." She justified.

Gordo just muttered under his breath. "Man, by the time I reach home, I'd probably have bruises all over my body." He let out a sigh and added, "well, that's the risk you're gonna take for having two violent friends, even if they _are _girls."

They ignored his comment and Lizzie spoke up.

"How's your leg Miranda? Are the cramps easing away?" She asked, concerned

"Well, they're a little less painful for now, but after a few steps, hopefully it'll go away. It just needs some exercise after been stretched out in the same position for so long." Miranda reasoned.

"Well, I _could _call my mom if you want."

"Oh no, no need for that," Miranda shook her head vehemently, "it's just cramps. There's no need to trouble your mom."

"All right, if you say so," she shrugged.

"Besides," Miranda added, "what do, I tell her what caused the cramps? Gordo slept on it too long?" she scoffed.

"Well," Lizzie considered it for a moment, "probably not." She shrugged. "But you sure you can wobble all the way home?"

"You kidding me? I'm not going to wobble _all _the way home! I'm just gonna wobble all the way to the bus stop and _ride _the way home." Miranda grinned cheekily.

Lizzie shook her head and chuckled. "Alrightey then."

"Well, then," Gordo spoke up, "C'mon. Let's go if we want to catch the next bus home."

So together, they helped Miranda _wobble_ to the bus stop where they waited for the bus to shuffle the three amigos home.

_TBC_


End file.
